I usually cook soups with onions, garlic, ginger, carrots in a chicken stock base. Plus whatever vegetables I want. Not this time. The napa cabbage, honey dates and dried cuttlefish (optional, actually) were enough to create a subtly sweet and savoury flavour. I didn’t even add chicken stock cubes, but did add some oyster sauce. I simmered it for 1.5 hours on low flame. The end result? A comforting, rich and extremely flavourful soup guaranteed to warm your heart and tummy.

Makes 6 servings

What I used:

1 napa cabbage (I don’t know the weight, but the size I used cost $2.30 from the supermarket. Please use the pricing as a gauge)
16 fuzhou fishballs
10 fishballs
10 prawn balls
10 fresh minced meat balls (mix minced chicken or pork with some flour and shape into balls)
6 ngoh hiangs
3 honey dates
1 piece dried cuttlefish
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
White pepper
Water

1. Use a large pot enough for your napa cabbage. Wash and chop cabbage into approx 1.5 inches in width.
2. Fill the pot with the cabbage, honey dates, dried cuttlefish and water til it comes up to 3/4 of the pot. Bring to boil and lower flame.
3. Add in all the balls + oyster sauce. Simmer for 1.5 hours in low heat or til the cabbage is soft and soup slightly thickened.
4. Do a taste test and add some light soy sauce if you find it not salty enough. Add white pepper when ready. Enjoy hot with warm rice!

How much I spent: 

$2.30 for cabbage
$2.90 for fuzhou fishballs
$1.20 for ngoh hiang
$2.50 for prawn balls
$1.50 for fishballs
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $1.78

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This large pot can actually serve 7-8 people as an accompaniment to other dishes, but I’m quite sure everyone will ask for refills so go ahead and cook a big pot! Leftovers, if any, are great kept in the fridge and reheated for lunch the next day. Don’t cheat by adding too many deep fried items if not the soup will be quite salty and oily. I don’t recommend those flat ngoh hiangs. These rolled types are good to soak up all the goodness of the soup. And as always, eat your soup, not drink it! :)

The post Chinese Soup: Napa Cabbage with Fuzhou Fishballs appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I really should be eating more lotus root because it is high in fibre, vitamin C, and most importantly for me, it can supply me with a healthy dose of copper, zinc and iron. Comparatively though, it is higher in carbohydrates (17g carbs per 100g) than carrots (10g carbs per 100g), broccoli (3g carbs per 100g serving), and is almost close to the carb content of potatoes (21g carbs per 100g). For diabetics, you can still enjoy this dish, lotus root, carrots and all, and even potatoes and rice (balsmati, for its low GI), as long as it is eaten in moderation. The key word is always moderation.

For example, I moderate myself to eat a maximum of one slice of black forest cake, one butter scone, one peach tart, 1 apple strudel, and 3 chocolate cookies in one sitting. Just kidding. That’s my secret wish.

Makes 3 servings

What I used:

One segment lotus root, sliced, enough to fill a regular plate (about 150g to 200g)
2 chicken fillets, chopped into pieces
50ml water or chicken stock
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
Half a carrot, cut into flower pattern or not is up to you LOL
Some spring onions for garnish
1 tbsp spicy bean paste
1 tbsp light soy sauce
Half tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp hua diao jiu; chinese cooking wine
1 tsp sugar
White pepper
1tbsp olive oil

1. Marinade chicken in bean paste, soy sauce, sugar, wine and pepper.
2. Fry ginger in olive oil for a minute, then add garlic. Fry together til fragrant.
3. Add lotus root and carrot, fry for a few minutes then add the water or stock.
4. Add in chicken pieces and stir fry to coat veggies with sauce.
5. Cook til chicken is cooked and heated through. Garnish with spring onions.

How much I spent:

$1 for lotus root
$1.50 for chicken fillet
$0.30 for carrot
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $0.93

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If there’s one thing I would change, I would cut the chicken into strips instead of pieces so that more sauce is coated on them. If you prefer more gravy, add more water or stock, then season to your liking. As with all types of dishes, taste, taste taste during the cooking process!

Serve hot with rice and a clear vegetable soup for a balanced meal.

The post Chinese Stir Fry: Lotus Root & Chicken in Spicy Bean Sauce appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I was supposed to be on my way to meet the girls for Boon’s going-away-to-do-her-PHD party this evening. With 15 minutes to spare before I had to get out the door, I suddenly had this compelling urge to do a blog post on Char Bee Hoon! So what’s a girl to do except sit down dutifully to write a blog post at the risk of being veryyy late.. and this same girl is now now pretty miffed because the post got accidentally deleted!

In any case, I hope (re)blogging about Char Bee Hoon cheers me up. If the Char Bee Hoon you’re familiar with is a version stir fried with light soy sauce with dark sauce added for colour, change your mindset now! Your family will thank you for it. That type of Char Bee Hoon tastes fine, like uh, how something would taste when it is stir fried with light soy sauce with dark sauce added for colour. For me, Char Bee Hoon should always be braised in stock. When the correct amount of (chicken, fish, or vegetable) stock is added to the pan, the bee hoon would have soaked up all the goodness by the time it is ready to eat.

As you can tell by my cooking, I am kinda obsessed with stock. I use them everyday.. in soups and stews, in vegetables, in stir-frys, in noodle dishes like this one. And with instant stock available everywhere, it’s not like you need to put in a huge load of effort to prepare them. I would even go as far to say that discovering stock cubes changed my kitchen life.. they are a quick and easy way to add flavour, providing you with a base to experiment.. and you do just that, knowing at the back of your mind you’re covered.

Cooking with stock is like being in a safe and long term relationship which gives you the power to explore and do a little dance in the universe, knowing that you can always go home.

Makes 6 servings

What I used:

Half packet bee hoon, soaked til just soft and drained (do not oversoak!)
1 egg, beaten, omelette it and slice. Set aside
12 prawns
1/3 beijing cabbage, chopped
4 dried chinese mushrooms, cut into strips
1 carrot, chopped into strips
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chopped shallots
Red chillies, fried shallots, spring onions and parsley for garnish
1 tbsp oilve oil
For the flavour stock (mix everything together):
Half a stock cube (chicken or fish) dissolved in 800ml hot water
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
White pepper

1. Heat oil in pan til hot, then fry shallots and garlic til fragrant.
2. Add in the mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes, then add cabbage, carrots and prawns.
3. Add the bee hoon, then slowly pour in the flavour stock til it comes up to about half the level of bee hoon.
4. Lower the heat, allow bee hoon to absorb the stock (about 4-5 minutes) til dry. Toss with chopsticks to mix.
5. Top with omelette strips and garnish with red chillies, fried shallots, spring onions and parsley.

How much I spent:

$0.60 for bee hoon
$4 for prawns
$0.30 for egg
$0.30 for carrot
$0.40 for cabbage
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $0.94 (or $0.27 without prawns for a basic but still delish version!)

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Every household has its recipe for Char Bee Hoon, and this is how I cook mine!

The post Char Bee Hoon 炒米粉 appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I’ve never been a great baker but I love pastries, savoury especially. Chicken pies, beef pies, creamy mushroom pies.. I love them all. But I have a problem making them because I never seem to figure out how I would have a clean “lightly floured surface” to roll out those pastries. Where do you do it? On the tabletop?

So I buy pastry sheets. I had some shortcrust left over from when I made the mushroom quiche, and thought to put them to good use. The thing about buying frozen sheets is that they are never as buttery as you would like. Something’s amiss, but I cannot alter the texture or taste, and this is the frustrating thing about buying pre-packaged items.

Ah-mm and 88 liked this. It is something different from the regular “western” food we usually have, and crispy to eat and fun to look at. They had kinda the same reaction when I made risotto the other time.. at first 88 approached it warily (as she does with any unfamiliar food), then tucked into it happily. Ah-mm’s approach to new foods is different.. she dives straight in to enjoy different tastes presented to her. She’s easier to cook for in a way, but 88′s easy to cook for also because she’s predictable. Do I understand what I’m saying?

Along with the pastry pockets, I also made caramelised onions with shitake mushrooms. These are not yet caramelised enough, but I wanted some bite to the onions. To make these, I sauteed onions with some oil in a skillet, then added sliced mushrooms. Cook til the onions are soft then deglaze the pan with white wine. Add some sprinkling of salt at the end.

I decided to make chicken mayo with cream-cheese spinach as the filling. This would be nice with a potato, carrot, celery and chicken filling ala chicken pie! You can also fill it with sardines and tuna, and even make smaller portions of it as a snack.

Makes 3 servings

What I used:

3 frozen shortcrust pastry sheets (from cold storage, about $8 for 7 sheets)
6 pcs boneless chicken fillets (or you can use one chicken breast)
1 package spinach
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp oil or butter
Garlic powder
1/2 tsp chicken seasoning
4 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp cream cheese
Salt and pepper

1. Take the pastry sheets out from the freezer before preparing the ingredients.
2. Boil the chicken til cooked. Reserve 3 tbsp of water. When chicken has cooled, shred and add the mayo, garlic power, chicken seasoning, reserved water, and salt and pepper.
3. Boil spinach, squeeze dry and roughly chop.
4. Heat up a pan and fry onions in oil or butter. After 3 minutes, add cream cheese and cooked spinach. Set aside to cool.
5. Cut pastry sheet into two when it is soft enough to handle. Then lay the spinach in the middle of one-half of pastry sheet and top with mayo chicken.
6. Lay the other one-half of pastry sheet on top, seal the edges and trim away any excess. (don’t waste! can make mini pies!)
7. Spray with cooking spray then airfry for 15 minutes at 180 degrees. Alternatively, bake at 200 degrees in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden.

How much I spent:

$3.40 for pastry sheets
$2.50 for chicken fillets
$0.50 for spinach
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $2.13

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This is quite easy to make since we’re not making the pastry from scratch. Try it, I think you’ll like it! I’m keeping the rest of the pastry sheets for a classic chicken pot pie and hopefully will make it sometime next week.

The post Chicken and Spinach Pastry Pocket appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

A hearty stew is usually made up of a few core ingredients- potatoes, onions, a type of meat (beef and pork are common and impart great flavour) and (surprise!) celery. I know how most of you feel towards celery. Trust me, no one knows celery better. In a desperate attempt to lose weight (the wrong way) more than ten years ago, I survived on ONE stalk of raw celery per day. I hated celery. I lost a lot of weight (so would anyone, on the crazy diet) and lowered my blood pressure to a healthy range (it was 160/100 at my peak- very scary) and still hated celery. But I knew it was, and still is, good for me. What I want you to know, though, is that cooked celery tastes NOTHING like its raw form. It tastes earthy and potato-ey if cooked in a stew, and is essential to making a great stew. It is also used in chicken pie fillings.

Please do not leave out the celery if you decide to cook this dish. Please do not cook this dish if you intend to leave out the celery- it will not do this stew justice.

The version I’ve done above is a cross between a soup and stew because today I decided to serve this with rice instead of bread. This was after about 1.5 hours of slow cooking on a lowered flame. The stew gets thicker as it simmers. After two hours of slow stove-top cooking, this is what you’ll get:

A beautiful comforting soup, great with some warm crusty bread roll.

Makes 4 servings

What I used:

500g pork shoulder, chopped into 2-cm pieces (use beef if whoever you’re cooking for takes beef)
1 large onion, wedged
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 litre chicken stock (use beef stock if whoever you’re cooking for takes beef)
1 small Beijing cabbage, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped into chunks
2 carrots, chopped into chunks
1 tomato, wedged
4 stalks celery (leaves and white stems removed), chopped to 1-cm pieces
1 can mixed beans (kidney beans, chick peas etc, optional)
5 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp corn flour

1. Marinate pork pieces in some oyster sauce, soy sauce and corn flour for 15 minutes.
2. Heat up the oil in a pot, brown meat on both sides then set aside.
3. In the same pot, fry the onions til slightly soft, then add the garlic. Fry for 1-2 minutes then add the celery.
4. Fry for 5 minutes. Add stock if too dry.
5. When the celery is softer, add the rest of the stock and return the meat to the pot. Scrape the sides of your pot with the stock to get all the goodness.
6. Add in the carrots, potatoes, tomato, cabbage and bring to boil. Lower flame and simmer for 1 hour.
7. Stir in tomato ketchup and oyster sauce. Continue to cook for 30 minutes or til consistency is to your liking.

How much I spent:

$2.35 for pork
$1.20 for Beijing Cabbage
$0.60 for potatoes
$0.40 for carrots
$0.30 for tomato
$0.40 for celery
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $1.32

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Because this is so good, I recommend that you make a batch of this in a large pot. Cover leftovers and refrigerate.. heat it up for dinner the next day. You can also freeze leftovers in an airtight ziplock bag (keeps for 2 weeks if frozen properly) and reheat when you feel lonely.

The post Rustic Pork and Cabbage Stew appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.